For the second year in a row the women's golf team came from behind after 36 holes to win the Mason Randolph Collegiate Classic. In Its first tournament since winning the NCAA Championship in May, Duke found itself in fourth place and trailing by four stokes entering the final round of the three-day event in Nashville, Tenn. But the Blue Devils battled windy conditions Sunday to come away with a three-stroke team win and the tournament's individual winner, freshman Amanda Blumenherst.
"I wasn't nervous," head coach Dan Brooks said. "I was looking forward to the day, and when I woke up, I saw it was going to be windy, which I thought was a good thing. Good players like bad conditions."
Although the weather forced most golfers' scores up Sunday, the second-ranked Blue Devils actually improved on their second-day performance, as Blumenherst shot four-under par to help Duke gain seven strokes on the competition.
Blumenherst, who arrived at Duke this year as the third-ranked junior golfer in the country, was the story of the tournament for the Blue Devils as she posted scores of 69, 71, and 68 to finish eight-under par and five strokes ahead of the nearest competitors.
"Of course I was nervous, especially the first day," Blumenherst said. "It really wasn't that different than junior golf. I was playing against a lot of the same girls."
Her win marks the first time a freshman has won her first tournament in Division I golf since former Blue Devil Candy Hannemann did so in 1998. Blumenherst's three-round total of 208 was the lowest score by a freshman in her first tournament in Duke history.
"I didn't expect anything because I don't do that for freshmen but I'm not terribly surprised," Brooks said. "It's a golf course and you play the golf course. It's not like she's bumping up against bigger players on a court or anything."
Anna Grzebien, last year's NCAA Individual Champion and the top-ranked golfer in the country, placed seventh with a final score of three-over par. She began the tournament with a three-under-par 69 Friday, but followed that up with two disappointing scores of 75, leaving her over par.
Jennie Lee, Duke's other freshman, finished third on the team with scores of 74, 73, and 76 and tied for 16th overall with a score of seven-over par. Senior Liz Janangelo ended up tied for 30th with her score of 12-over par to round out the Blue Devils' scoring.
"We're just getting started and, my gosh we've got one player winning the tournament and others who aren't even playing up to their potential," Brooks said.
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